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A History of the
SPRING HILL MASONIC LODGE
# 155
Navarro Co. Texas
**********************
The
Corsicana Masonic Lodge #104
had formed
in December 1851 when James Riggs was Secretary. Corsicana Lodge
members who, later, became member at Spring Hill included: William
Ritchie, John Treadwell, William J Stokes, William P Wood, James
Maudling, James A Johnson,
The
following Petition was first presented to the Corsicana Lodge 104, then
to The Grand Lodge of Texas.
Spring Hill Navarro Co Texas June 3, 1854
To The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the State of Texas the
petitioners humbly show that they are Ancient Free and Accepted Master
Masons having the prosperity of the fraternity at heart they are willing
to exert their best endeavors to promote and defend the general
principles of Masonry.
For the convenience of their respective dwellings and
for other good reasons they are desirous of forming a new Lodge in the
County of Navarro near Spring Hill to be named Spring Hill. In
consequence of this desire and for the good of the Craft they pray for
a Charter or Warrant to empower them to assemble as a legal Lodge to
discharge the duties of Masonry in the several degrees of Entered
Apprentices Fellow Craft and Master Masons in a regular and
constitutional manner according to the Ancient form of the Fraternity
and the Laws and Regulations of The Grand Lodge that they have nominated
and do recommend….Henry Fullerton as Worshipful Master, Henry W Ward to
be the first Senior Warden and Wm Richey to be the first Junior Warden
of said lodge….that if the prayer of the petition should be granted they
promise a strict conformity to all the constitutional laws rules and
regulations of the Grand Lodge.
)( William Stuard
J B Maulding )( Henry Fullerton
)( H W Ward
)( William Walker
)( William Richey
)( Guy Stokes
C M
Winkler, Secretary Pro Tem of the Corsicana Lodge, wrote the following…
Bros. W
J Stewart, Henry Fullerton, H W Ward, William Walker, William Richey,
Guy Stokes, and James B Maulding…..having presented this petition for a
New Lodge at Spring Hill in Navarro Co for the recommendation and action
of this Lodge on motion it is resolved that this petition be recommended
and that this lodge vouch that the three officers of said new lodge are
qualified the degrees of E.A., F. C., and M. M., and said petition be
furnished, with a certified copy of this resolution.
I
hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the Resolution
adopted by Corsicana Lodge 104 at regular meeting, June 3rd,
1854.
Signed….. C M WINKLER
Secretary Pro Tem
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The Spring
Hill Masonic Lodge No. 155
was
organized in 1854 and a Lodge Hall constructed the same year. The
initial Lodge Hall was located in the vicinity of the present day Spring
Hill Cemetery , sometimes referred to as "The Old Spring Hill" as
opposed to "The New Spring Hill" which was not created until after 1858.
and located a mile north and across Treadwell Branch.
The Lodge
Hall at "The New Spring Hill" was located on the second floor of a
brick building and the lower floor of the structure housed a General
Merchandise Store on the west side oF Broadway.. The Lodge Hall was
accessed by wooden steps mounted to the outside of the structure.
Early
minutes of the Lodge reveal that membership during years prior to the
Civil War averaged eighteen. Reports made during the Civil War
indicate that the entire membership was in the service of the CSA.
After the Civil War membership grew to almost fifty and the Lodge
flourished.
When the
Town of Dawson was organized on the new railroad many residents of
Spring Hill moved their homes to the new town. The Masonic Lodge moved
from Spring Hill to Dawson in 1881, but the name remained Spring Hill
Masonic Lodge No. 155 until 1905.
Early
meeting sites for the Spring Hill Lodge in the new town of Dawson are
unknown, but when a two story building was constructed on "Rat Row" the
second floor was always known as The Lodge Hall. Lodge Night brought
members from Dawson and the outlying areas...all dressed in their
finest.. who would gather for a few minutes on the sidewalk to exchange
pleasantries before climbing the stairs to the secret meetings.
Members, sometimes, conveyed an idea to little boys that the Lodge
Members rode goats at their meetings.
The Spring
Hill Masonic Lodge SEAL disappeared for many years, but was found in a
field several counties away. The journey of the SEAL was never
discovered, but it remains on display at the Museum of The Grand Lodge
of Texas at Waco.
Recent research at the
Library of The Grand Lodge of Texas at Waco revealed that a petition
for a Masonic Charter was submitted to The Grand Lodge of Texas on June
3, 1854 by a group of men led by J B Maulding. The others, whose
names appear on the petition, include: William Stuart (shown as
Stewart, also) , Henry Fullerton, H W Ward, William Walker, William
Richey, and Guy Stokes.
*********************
James B Mauldin
: Probably,a son of James Presley Maulding. .The Maulding
Family arrived in America about 1633 and were said to have been of the
Quaker faith. Presley Maulding, born c 1800, married Catherine Poer at
Madison Co TN. The family lived at Hempstead AR in 1836 and received a
headright in Bowie Co TX in 1837. Presley, apparently, died soon
thereafter. Catherine brought her family to Navarro Co TX. Children
were: Richard, Matilda, Taylor, Minerva, James, William, Nancy Ann, and
John. No Maulding marriages were found in NavCo records. The family,
apparently, returned to Bowie Co to live. James Maulding had, earlier,
been a member of the Corsicana Lodge ….4
H W Ward
probably, William Ward b1797, married Rebecca Powell in Jones Co GA,
migrated to Lauderdale Co MS, and settled in Navarro Co TX around 1845.
Their daughter, Nancy Powell Ward, married 1841 Lewis Rogers in MS.
Other children were: Moses Ward, Mary Ann Ward, Sarah Elizabeth Ward,
John Ward, and William Ward Jr.
Guy Stokes
a son of Jordan G and Hannah Hill Stokes of Chatham Co NC. His
siblings were Thomas, William, Mary, Hannah, Rhoda, & Ann. His family
descended from Sylvanius Stokes who migrated to Maury Co Tenn. from
NC. Three Stokes men served the CSA from NavCo Texas: Thomas
Stokes, Dresden; C W Stokes,Cryer Creek(Another family) ; William F
Stokes, buried at Dawson. Georgia Anna Stokes married 1866 Benjamin
Franklin Carrol in NavCO TX Jaseph Stokes married 1869 Lucinda Rogers
in NavCo.
William Richey
William Richey, bc1800….a son of James Richey Sr who married Elizabeth
Dunn in SC…….. came to Texas and married the Widow Cannon whose daughter
married Brit Dawson. . William Richey had, earlier, been a member of
the Corsicana Lodge
*****************
The petition, written in
longhand, stated that the group had nominated Henry Fullerton as
Worshipful Master; Henry W Ward as Senior Warden; William Richey as
Junior Warden;
C M Winkler attested that the
Corsican Lodge # 104 had previously received and approved the petition.
It was on June 24th that Francis L Barziza, of the Wheelock
Lodge, filled in longhand the blanks of a printed form titled
“IN
THE NAME AND BY THE AUTHORITY
of
the
GRAND
LODGE OF TEXAS”
which granted the petition
and appointed the above stated officers to serve.
OFFICERS FOR YEAR
1854-1855
Appointed by Francis J
Barziza
Deputy Grand Master. Grand
Lodge of Texas
Henry
Fullerson First Master
Henry W Ward
First Senior Warden
William
Richey First Junior Warden
OFFICERS FOR YEAR 1856
Elected by Eighteen Lodge
Membership
William
Blackburn Worshipful Master
Samuel Wright
Senior Warden
William Walker
Junior Warden
John R
Ogilvie
Treasurer
Nicholas T
Sneed Secretary
Henry
Fullerton Senior Deacon
B J C
Hill Junior
Deacon
Robert A
Younger Stewart
G W
Clary
Steward
Jesse Clary, vet TX
Revolution…from NavCo
John T Clary m. Mary
V….son John H b.1873 NavCo
Frances Marion Clary b.
1822 AL ..d NavCo
William
Williams
Tiler
WORSHIPFUL MASTERS
Serving Spring Hill
Masonic Lodge
1854-1883
Henry
Fullerton 1854
William
Blackburn 1855
Benjamin J C
Hill 1856
Nicholas T
Sneed 1857
Benjamin J C
Hill 1858
L L
Cook 1859
Nicholas T
Sneed 1860-1864
M Cyrus
Spence 1865-1867
J J
Cleghorn 1868
William H
Pursley 1869
J J
Cleghorn 1870
William
Walker 1871
William H
Pursley 1872
William
Booth 1873
Larkin
Hill 1874
William
Walker 1875-1876
J A
Scales 1877
Joseph Calvin
Matthews 1878
Robert Harvey
Matthews 1879-1880
M A
Fox…. .1881
Robert Harvey
Matthews 1882
J H Galbreath
1883
SPRING HILL LODGE
Moved to Dawson
W T
Westmoreland 1884-1885
J M
Perry 1886
T D
Dickson 1887-1888
W T
Westmoreland 1889
J F
Sims 1890-1891
Albert Henry
Berry 1892
W T
Westmoreland 1893
James Henry
McCulloch 1894-1895
W E
Berry 1896-1898
J S
Berry 1899-1900
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